The Enfield, Conn.-based company plans to sell 12.3 million shares and expects the price to fall somewhere between $13 and $15 per share, according to the company's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday....

...STR has been around since 1944 and makes encapsulants that are sold under the brand PhotoCap. The company said it has more than 100 customers worldwide, including First Solar, SunPower, BP Solar and United Solar Ovonic....MORE

(Corrects to reflect that current owners, not executives, are selling 81.3 percent of the IPO's shares)

* Company sees net IPO proceeds of $25.4 mln

* Sales fell 14 pct in first half of 2009

* Current owners selling 81.3 pct of the IPO's shares

NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - STR Holdings Inc set terms for what is likely to become the first U.S.-listed initial public offering by a solar company in 15 months.

The Connecticut-based company, which provides encapsulants that protect a solar module's semiconductor circuit, plans to sell 12.3 million shares for between $13 and $15 each, raising an estimated $172 million, according to an updated prospectus filed on Thursday with U.S. regulators. The shares would trade on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker symbol "STRI.N".

Its encapsulants are used in both crystalline and thin-film solar modules....MORE